A theory as to why some people poop their pants when in danger.. seriously

Ok quick theory from me.

I was reading this article on the BBC's website about the various defenses animals have evolved to deter predators.

Antipredator adaptation

Puffer fish blow themselves up, others display bright colours, the skunk, lifts its tail and releases a stench, tarantulas release tiny hairs from their backs which can irritate a predators eyes and noses.

And I also rememberd how the Hag Fish produces slime when under attack to deter predators

Hag Fish

So then I thought, huh, maybe that's why some people and animals crap themselves when in danger. From an evolutionary perspective maybe some picky eating predators would be put off eating an animal who is covered in a pile of fresh steamy pants mud? Its a basic fight or flight response that has survived, maybe?

Also if you were a cave man and about to beat another cave man to death over some cave man business then you may be put off from getting close enough for the kill if they were covered in their own feces, esp if the cave lady was standing watching, she may not want your advances if you're covered in the poop of your enemy.

I mean some monkeys throw their poop, they seem to have taken this survival mechanism to the next level. phys.org...

ATS over to you...

Seriously?

I would suggest you poop yourself to lighten the load for the 'flight stage' The lighter you are the faster you run. A little jet propulsion helps as well. Leaving something slippery in their path may make the predator slip and fall.

I could do a really good daffy duck cartoon with this, bugs holding his nose.

Well, its just as valid as the OP only funnier.

P

reply to post by MrSpiderMonkey


thx for the laugh ...


however, your suggesting that it is a survival mechanism??

humans poops themselves in danger to remove any block up and extra weight that might slow you down if we needed to run for our lives

reply to post by Thurisaz


All biological processes have evolved, evolution makes biological processes that increase survival live on and be passed down. I would argue that pooping your pants would hinder the flight response, so it must have enabled survival as a deterrent to predators.

I propose a study where we cover one steak in human poop, another in human sweat and leave another just plain straight up, and then let a mountain lion in the room and see which one it goes for. do this a bunch of times with different predators. write down the results. Science baby

I just pooped a little in my pants….
Probably to defend myself from this thread

reply to post by MrSpiderMonkey


I think it sounds good in theory but it would only be effective against humans large land predators wouldnt care

Originally posted by WanderingThe3rd
humans poops themselves in danger to remove any block up and extra weight that might slow you down if we needed to run for our lives

The difference in weight would be virtually irrelevant. Not to mention taking a crap takes time... time that could be spent running away. The OP's theory is much more valid than this theory. I know I would be much less likely to kill and eat an animal if it just crapped everywhere.

ha ha .. i like your logic .. tho perhaps not so much choice of topic

I was reading last night how lady birds release toxic blood from their knees, to repel attackers ... not too dis-similar from what youre suggesting .. tho a different cocktail and different delivery method, but for a similar purpose, with perhaps similar results

In reflex bleeding, insects dispel their blood, hemolymph, or a mixture of exocrine secretions and blood as a defensive maneuver. As previously mentioned, the discharged blood may contain toxins produced within the insect source or externally from plants that the insect consumed.[10] Reflexive bleeding occurs in specific parts of the body; for example, the beetle families Coccinellidae (ladybugs) and Meloidae bleed from the knee joints.

Source

reply to post by pheonix358


This is my thought as well. I don't know how much your average adult bm weighs but every little bit of mass you can shave off helps you run a bit faster. That little bit can mean the difference between life and death and it makes sense that nature would select for such a marginal advantage over no advantage at all (i.e. pooping yourself to lessen mass for flight compared to not doing so and holding onto that mass)

In high stress or "danger" situations, the body activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is responsible for, among other things, your fight or flight (fof) response.

The SNS triggers a number of fof orientated changes in your body, heart rate increases, blood vessels dilate, airways relax, pupils dilate and the bowel and bladder muscles relax, leading to defecation.

Strange old world. The fight or flight mechanism can make you crap yourself, but on the other hand it can also stop labour so a pregnant female can leg it. In that case I can't see the benefit of losing an extra pound in crap when your gipping it with the equivilent of a ten pound bowling ball in yer belly.

reply to post by Dispo

In high stress or "danger" situations, the body activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is responsible for, among other things, your fight or flight (fof) response. The SNS triggers a number of fof orientated changes in your body, heart rate increases, blood vessels dilate, airways relax, pupils dilate and the bowel and bladder muscles relax, leading to defecation.

Yes my friend that is the how, but evolution almost always points to the why. Survival of the fittest and mutations determine why we are the way we are.

Originally posted by pheonix358
I would suggest you poop yourself to lighten the load for the 'flight stage' The lighter you are the faster you run. A little jet propulsion helps as well. Leaving something slippery in their path may make the predator slip and fall.

I could do a really good daffy duck cartoon with this, bugs holding his nose.

Well, its just as valid as the OP only funnier.

P

You're close. The adrenaline dump during fight-or-flight causes your blood supply to flow out and away from your organs, toward your extremities to (1) facilitate gross motor skills so you can run like hell and (2) curtail blood loss, should one of your vital organs get bitten, stabbed, shot or whatever. However, the downside to this is, as the blood flows away from your organs, the smooth muscle fibers they're composed of fail to operate as the involuntary muscles they are. All of the organs relax as the blood is drained, and oops, you've pooped your pants.

i remember my Hamster used to spit food out if i hold them too tight or keep them trapped.... kinda like bribing me or distracting me with food.

I think it's the body preparing itself for battle.

reply to post by PrplHrt


Got it right. It's not to lighten your load. YOu also vomit sometimes when fight or flight kicks in. The body doesn't want anything in the bowels that will get in the way chemically or blood flow wise of the muscles and brain.

THe pooping in the pants can also be a startle response when the nervous system gets over run with stimuli. THe fact is the brain can't do more than one thing at a time. And when a loud bang goes off the nerves telling the butt sphincter to keep holding that S in, cease to send that signal momentarily because it's stunned by the influx of new signals coming in, and then poopie goes down the hole.

It is simply a reaction to a large dump (pardon the pun) of adrenaline.
It's not the only reaction you also have an increase in heart rate,sweat glands increase production and time appears to slow down. Some people also begin to shake.
Most people mistake this reaction for fear but the more you expose yourself to adrenaline the more you recognise the symptoms.

Adrenaline is a " fast " drug or an upper, you will find most drugs of this type have very similar effect.

Originally posted by MrSpiderMonkey
reply to post by Dispo

 

In high stress or "danger" situations, the body activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is responsible for, among other things, your fight or flight (fof) response. The SNS triggers a number of fof orientated changes in your body, heart rate increases, blood vessels dilate, airways relax, pupils dilate and the bowel and bladder muscles relax, leading to defecation.

Yes my friend that is the how, but evolution almost always points to the why. Survival of the fittest and mutations determine why we are the way we are.

edit on 13-12-2012 by MrSpiderMonkey because: (no reason given)

The relaxation of smooth muscle regulating defecation is a side effect of the processes used to relax other smooth muscles to increase your blood flow and such.

Involuntary defecation is a side effect of the life saving fof mechanism, not a life saving mechanism in itself.